Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert (Book Review)
Wheezy F. Tubman spitting bars for the new generation.
Much of what we know about historical figures is shared after the fact, corroborated with dates, third-party testimony, and distilled by biographers. Black historical figures, in particular, are often presented as martyrs, their lives and actions canonized in a way that illustrates their achievements, yet rarely show us who they were as individuals.
Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert (Gallery Books) isn’t a biography, nor does it read like one. It’s a history lesson in 240 pages, taught by that one teacher everyone loves, supplemented with humor. And who else but Bob the Drag Queen (Christopher Caldwell) could write a novel about Harriet Tubman recording an R&B album?
After a mysterious event referred to as The Return, Harriet Tubman is one of many historical figures who have reappeared in the present day. As these figures attempt to ingratiate themselves into society, Harriet decides she wants to speak to the new generation by recording an R&B album.
The novel begins just as the protagonist, Darnell, is about to meet Harriet and her band, The Freemans, for the first time. After an incident derailed his successful career as a music producer years before, he was confused as to why Harriet wanted to work with him. Additionally, being aware of Harriet’s strong belief in God, he feared she would change her mind if she found out he was gay and an atheist.
From there, the story unfolds throughout a series of studio sessions, with Harriet and The Freemans sharing stories about their lives, and Darnell finding the rhythmic and lyrical linings to write and produce the songs. The Freemans is made up of four members, each with a unique history and connection to Harriet: Odessa, a former house slave and Tubman’s ‘adopted’ daughter, Buck, a former slave Harriet guided to freedom, Moses, Harriet’s brother, and Benjamin Lay (aka DJ Quakes), a British Quaker and abolitionist who helped Harriet’s efforts.
Throughout her life, and especially as conductor of the Underground Railroad, Harriet was guided by spiritual premonitions, which she believed to be messages from God. These premonitions helped guide slaves to freedom, helping to keep them safe along their journey. It was through one such premonition that God told her Darnell was the one who could bring her vision of blending hip-hop and spirituals to fruition.
R&B is deeply rooted in black history, initially classified as “race music” since it was performed by black musicians. It’s emotive storytelling that invites listeners to share in the singer’s heartbreak, struggles, and even their joy. Recording the album allows Harriet to reclaim her narrative, and her band to illuminate elements of the slavery/Civil War era that have been largely omitted: from assumptions about slave hierarchy, to the complexity of slaves and their masters worshiping the same god, and even the conditional allyship of some white abolitionists.
Getting Free
The theme of freedom is used as a commonality among the novel’s characters. The album is Harriet’s way of ministering to the new generation, the opportunities that freedom in the present day affords them. Additionally, with the Freemans, in telling their stories in their own words, on their terms, they’re taking advantage of the freedom they have to express themselves how they see fit.
Darnell’s story lacks the historical and situational pertinence of Harriet and the Freemans, however, Caldwell uses him as a vehicle to move the plot forward. In helping Harriet and her band with their album, he’s forced into a personal reckoning to be free of the shame, guilt, and negativity of his past to build a future for himself. And much like the journey on the Underground Railroad, once you get onboard, you don’t get off until you get to freedom–Harriet makes sure of it.
Final Thoughts
I’m rarely convinced to read a book based on the title alone, but seeing it, as well as the fact that Bob the Drag Queen was the author, sold me on it. From an academic perspective, slavery is a difficult subject to write about and contextualize while remaining objective, but with fiction, you have the space to dig deep, which is hard enough when focusing on one historical figure or subject. In this case, there were four.
Caldwell does an excellent job of keeping the focus on Harriet and the Freemans’ individual experiences within the slavery/Civil War era and not slavery itself. It’s a reclamation of their stories, as well as a declaration of autonomy. While it is fiction, we’re able to identify with each character and see in them the humanity that most of them were denied.